Developers have scrapped plans to take legal action against Moray Council over a proposal to build a new school in Elgin.
Pitgaveny Estate is overseeing a milestone scheme to create 1,500 houses at Findrassie, to the north of the town.
In threatening to sue the local authority, they argued it had “breached its trust” by forging ahead with moves to base a new primary school on the opposite side of Elgin.
Pitgaveny, through its agent Savills Smiths-Gore, urged councillors to scrap the scheme amid warnings it could leave the authority “vulnerable to legal challenge”.
But last week, Moray Council’s children and young people’s services committee was advised to disregard the firm’s protestations.
Committee chairwoman Anne Skene said the company’s intervention “failed to respect the consultation process”.
Members later sealed plans for the new £12million primary in the Linkwood area, which they hope to have open by summer 2018.
Yesterday, a spokesman for Pitgaveny confirmed the firm had opted against pursuing its objections.
Local expert Donald Lunan acted as planning advisor for the group working on the Findrassie initiative.
He said: “We are considering our options, but that was really our last throw of the dice.
“We are still in some disagreement with officers about the new primary school, but we have to accept that a decision has been taken and it can’t be changed.
“We must now focus on where and when the school at Findrassie might be needed.”
Mr Lunan will meet council education chiefs next week to discuss plans for the primary school which will eventually be required as part of the Findrassie scheme.
The school will be built to the south of Elgin’s Linkwood distillery, as part of an ambitious project to create 2,500 new homes in that area over the next 30 years.